PET Planet

BIODEGRADATION – WHAT’S IN A WORD? - Petcore's latest Column in PETPlanet

Biodegradation as a word is very confusing to non experts. The dictionary defines it as the process of being broken down by bacteria. Members of the public will tell you that plastics don’t biodegrade and they will tell you plastics stay in the environment for years, as though this were a bad thing. It is acknowledged that plastics need to be fit for purpose and have a required service lifetime. In the view of many however, if plastics biodegrade, break down or “disappear” they would be more environmentally friendly materials. Do they expect them to degrade as soon as they hit the ground?

USES FOR RECYCLED PET - Petcore Column for PETPlanet

Since 2001 Petcore has commissioned an annual review of the European PET bottle collection figures from PCI. We duly report to the press each year how many tonnes were collected and the percentage of recycled PET used to produce fibre, sheet, and containers etc. In this column we give more details about these end uses.
 
Fibre was the original outlet for recycled PET and it still consumes a very large tonnage. In 2001 144,000 tonnes of RPET (62% of all European supply) were used in fibre applications whereas in 2008 363,000 tonnes of RPET (45% of European supply) was used in fibre. Early uses of RPET were for fibres in the higher dTex range such as staple fibre for fillings for duvets, ski jackets etc using the insulation properties of PET fibre. Continuous development and improvement in RPET quality led to the production of polar fleece fabric and outdoor wear made from finer fibres spun from 100% RPET. Premium quality back packs, travel goods and computer cases are now made utilising recycled PET. RPET is also a major feedstock for non-wovens such as geotextiles, filters and wipes. 

All you need to know about PET - and where to find it

In our recent articles we have covered a range of topics and issues on PET and PET recycling.  We have tried to provide objective and factual information and to make this available for all.  Now we believe it is time for Petcore to use state of the art information technology to broadcast our own achievements.
 
Petcore’s website has been redesigned and re-launched in 2010 taking advantage of the enormous advances in website development. Since 1995 Petcore has used its website to give the public and Petcore members up to date and accurate information on PET and PET recycling in a user-friendly format.
 
Useful facts on PET, PET collection, sorting, recycling and end uses are available on the site, along with the Petcore video and Kids’ Corner. Information on Petcore member companies, frequently asked questions, Petcore press releases and journal articles are more easily accessible. The latest news on PET packaging and recycling is also freely available to all.

The Brighter Future for PET Recycling

From Petcore's PETPlanet Column - Vols 1&2 2010
www.petpla.net
Post-consumer recycling of PET containers is gaining momentum. As the industry looks increasingly towards the opportunities for a cradle-to-cradle system, where containers are recycled back into new PET containers rather into other PET products, we need to consider the long-term effects of multiple recycles on the quality of final container aesthetics.
 
Increasing volumes of containers entering the recycle stream already contain significant proportions of recycled material. The result of this current “success” in recycling is, however, likely to have a negative impact on the long term aesthetic quality of PET containers as the quality of resin potentially deteriorates with each recycle trip.

11 & 12 2009 The Continuing Truth about PET

PET is a wonderful packaging material! 
 
PET is strong, lightweight and is still improving its recycling track record. Last month Petcore announced thatEuropean post-sorting PET collection reached 1.26m tonnes in 2008 (an increase of more than 11% on 2007) and that the overall collection rate rose by nearly 5%, from over 41% to 46% of all PET bottles on the market.
 
In its everyday form PET packaging provides an excellent b

10 2009 European PET Recycling Success

At the time of writing Petcore is waiting for the final statistics on PET collection in Europe for 2008

09 2009 PLAand its Threat to the European PET Recycle Industry

It is less than a year since Petcore last made PLA the subject of its PETPlanet Column but the issues raised by our US counterpart, NAPCOR, in their press release[1] of 24 July are just as relevant in a European context.
 
PLA producers are investing a lot of effort on both sides of the Atlantic to “prove” that PLA bottles can be included with the PET col

08 2009 Bottled Water

At the end of June in the UK Thames Water’s “London On Tap” was presented with the UK’s most influential, independent, peer-assessed corporate responsibility award, the Proctor & Gamble ‘Big Tick’ for Responsible Marketing. This was awarded to Thames Water for its campaign’s positive impact on the community, environment and marketplace. The UK Drinking Water Inspectorate is also expected to rate Thames tap water at 99.99% compliant with stringent National and European standards. David Owens, chief executive of Tha

07 2009 The REACH Pre-Registration is Over – What Now?

To ensure that companies meet the first substance registration deadline of November 10 2010 under REACH it is important that the Substance Information Exchange Forums (SIEFs) are formed promptly.
 
The idea behind SIEFs is that companies planning to register the same substance share information to avoid duplication of studies and agree on classification and labelling as appropriate. Joining a SIEF is a legal obligation for all registrants.

06 2009 Recycled PET in Food Contact Applications

As the collection and recycle of PET bottles in Europe grew, the PET industry recognised that recycled PET outlets were reaching saturation and we needed to recycle PET back into food contact packaging. As PET is the only polymer manufactured exclusively to food contact regulatory standards, the PET industry identified PET as the right candidate to lead recycle back to food contact.
 
In Europe there were little or no harmonised regulations and some countries even banned the use of recycled plastics in food contact app

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